Barack Obama last night threw David Cameron a political lifeline by following his lead in giving US politicians the chance to veto air strikes on Syria. In an unprecedented move, the President said he was determined to bomb Syria – but not until Congress voted on the matter. In theory, as Commander-in-Chief of US forces, he could ignore any Congress vote against military action, but having invited them to do so it is considered highly unlikely.

Obama wants Congress to provide him with cover, simple as that. If Congress HAS any backbone it will deny him what he wants.

Not that I give much of a stuff about democracy. On the question of one-man-one-vote I’m with Hans-Hermann Hoppe, but the comment rather leapt out at me. (The only other line I remember was his laughable claim that chemical weapons in Syria threaten America’s national security.)

I should think that the Isle of Man, the Faroe Islands and Iceland would rather disagree. Come to think of it, I should imagine that dozens of countries would take issue. Maybe Obama, ignoring that the US is a constitutional republic with a few democratic features, means it’s “the world’s oldest democracy which practices democracy just like the US”. He certainly can’t be speaking of universal suffrage, since that has a rather short history in the US. He can’t be appealing to any long, unbroken democratic record of his office, since Gerald Ford was not elected to the presidency.

Can anyone guess at what he’s on about? Is he right, or is this just part of the self-congratulatory narrative over there also?

I wonder if Obama feels the pain of the West family in the same way as he did of the Martin family?

An 18-year-old man was convicted of murder in the shooting of a baby who was riding in a stroller alongside his mom in a town in coastal Georgia. Jurors deliberated about two hours before finding De’Marquise Elkins guilty of 11 counts, including two counts of felony murder and one count of malice murder in the March 21 killing of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago in Brunswick. The man’s mother, Karimah Elkins, was on trial alongside him and was found guilty of tampering with evidence but acquitted of lying to police.

What sort of savage would shoot a 13 month baby is the face? De’Marquise Elkins is Black. His victims were white. Why do the media shy away from pondering the “racist” aspect to this brutal shooting?

I was reading that US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is poised to become the first judge on the country’s highest court to perform a same-sex marriage.

Justice Ginsburg, 80, officiates this weekend at the wedding of Michael Kaiser, 59, president of the Kennedy Center performing arts space, and economist John Roberts, 32. Mr Kaiser is a personal friend of hers.

Ginsburg enjoyed the patronage of both Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton to get to her elevated pedestal and in a way the very fact that SHE got to the Supreme Court when Robert Bork was prevented rather makes the point of his wonderful book, which provides this post with its title. Liberals get to the top, authentic conservatives do not.

Decades of liberal interference has made our prisons more like holiday camps. I have made this point repeatedly on TV and yet it seems to be met by stunned denial. But don’t take MY word for it, take this…

A SNEERING conman sparked fury yesterday when he boasted his time in prison was “the best holiday ever” Shameless Amrik Gill, (Good British name)6 who served half of an 18-month sentence, also thanked British taxpayers on Twitter “for making it possible”. Referring to the length of a Twitter message, he went on “140 characters is like 18 months…not long enough.”

‘The US delivered a stunning snub to Britain yesterday, lavishing praise on its ‘oldest ally’ France as the two countries prepared to launch missile strikes on Syria as early as this weekend. Secretary of State John Kerry paid tribute to the French for standing ready to join the US in confronting the ‘thug and murderer’ President Bashar Assad. In a White House address last night, Mr Kerry pointedly made no mention of Britain – despite the historic ‘special relationship’ between the two nations. Instead America was ‘confident and gratified’ it was ‘not alone’ in its will to act, he said, praising France, Australia and even Turkey for their support.”

Technically Kerry is right, to be fair, but when push came to shove in recent times, it was the UK that stood side by side with the US. We can all remember how France triangulated and worked against the US post 9/11. Now, for reasons of naked political expediency, that is swept aside by an imperious Kerry as he grovels to the French.

Well, we know that Obama is very cold when it comes to the UK (Remember how he returned a bust of Sir Winston Churchill?) so on this occasion, I am GLAD we are not helping our dear ally, the USA. See how you get on with the French and the Turks (Australia does seem quite a distance away from the conflict zone)

Reports that former South African President Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital are incorrect, South Africa’s presidency says. The BBC and other news outlets earlier quoted sources close to Mr Mandela as saying he had returned home. The presidency said in a statement that Mr Mandela was critical but stable but at times his condition became unstable prompting medical intervention.

There is something very unsettling about all of this and it seems to emanate from his own rotten to the core ANC who appear to want to somehow stage manage his final days. I have said my piece on Mandela but it is Zuma and the ANC goon squad who concern me most. Why can’t they leave the family alone? Why are they continually putting out statements which seem to contradict that of the extended Mandela clan?

If I killed a drug dealer on the streets of Durham City, I would expect to be acquitted of any charge for the very reasons which were given by our beloved Prime Minister as he made his impassioned appeal to be allowed to drop lots of bombs on Syria. I would have stated and claimed “Its the right thing to do!”; as well as “What the dead scumbag was selling kills people, so he deserves it”; as well as the ‘killer slogan’

That is why it is important that we have the doctrine of humanitarian intervention, (29 august 2013 Hansard Column 1430)

I would argue that, because of the drugs which this murderer distributed, drugs which weaken both mind and body to the extent that the users will do anything to fund their next fix; it was indeed a humanitarian act to spread the blood of this dross upon the street of the City in which I live. I would confidently expect acquittal, and moreover would expect that my legal costs would be re-imbursed!

You do not defeat terrorism by rewarding terrorists, regardless of how many bleeding heart liberals argue otherwise. Want to know where that flawed approach leads to? Read UNIONISM DECAYED 1997-2007 - It's my first book and it explains what happens when you seeek to appease terrorists and call it peace. It's available right now for ATW readers so make sure you get your copy by emailing the editor! This is the book that dissents from the herd mentality that doing wrong can lead to being right. It doesn't and this book spells out WHY.

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